Links for Portland Parents of Talented and Gifted Children

 


 

NEWSPAPER/MEDIA ARTICLES

 

 

 

PPS TAG appeal:

 

(note: many newspaper articles are cached in archives that charge a fee; however they should still be available from your public library)

 

Order of the Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Granting Petitioners' Motion for Summary Judgment, August 9, 2005

 

"State Begins Investigation Of Portland Schools' Gifted Program" by Rob Manning for Oregon Public Broadcasting, May 4, 2007
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1070284


 

Review faults program for talented students: Access at Sabin falls short in instructional hours, other areas By Jennifer Anderson, The Portland Tribune, Apr 17, 2007
 

"Portland Public Schools’ Access program — the district’s only separate program for talented and gifted children — is out of compliance with state standards on five counts, a recent report found.....
The scrutiny of the Access program is happening on a parallel track to a broader review under way of the TAG offerings district wide....The purpose is to find out whether the TAG program is in compliance with Oregon Administrative Rules that govern its operation."
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=117676390599662700
 

"Portland schools' gifted program gets poor grades: The district is working on solutions for Access after parents complain" by Paige Parker, The Oregonian Thursday, May 31, 2007 

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/stories/index.ssf/base/portland_news/1180578390192890.xml&coll=7


"Parents ask if gifted kids get all they need: TAG program varies from school to school within the district"
By Jennifer Anderson The Portland Tribune Oct 30, 2006
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=116224744575229100

 

"Questions Of Bias Surround ODE-Charter School Squabble"  By Rob Manning for Oregon Public Broadcasting, September 9, 2006:

"The Oregon Department of Education recently drew the ire of charter school supporters when it cracked down on admissions policies at Oregon's fastest-growing charter school. But ODE's fast action also got the attention of other school advocates, who have criticized the state for years for lax enforcement of other violations."

http://publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=970579&sectionID=1

 

"Schools stay under the ‘gifted’ gun" by Todd Murphy for the Portland Tribune  Tue, May 17, 2005

 "A Multnomah County Circuit judge has sided with a group of Portland parents and told the Oregon Department of Education it must reconsider its ruling that the Portland school district was providing appropriate educational services to the district’s “talented and gifted” children......."

http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=29909

 

Re-evaluation of TAG programs ordered by Besty Hammond for the Portland Oregonian

A judge tells Oregon to determine whether schools are doing enough for talented-and-gifted students

http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1116065141317910.xml?oregonian?lced&coll=7

 

Court Hands TAG Parents Victory By Rob Manning for Oregon Public Broadcasting

PORTLAND, OR 2005-05-13 (OPB Radio) - A group of Portland-area parents has been battling education officials for seven years over the identification and instruction of Talented and Gifted students. Yesterday afternoon, they got a measure of satisfaction.  Immediately after hearing oral arguments, a Multnomah County Circuit Judge

ruled that the Department of Education could not defend the legality of Portland's procedures.......

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=771899

 

Parents Contest State Decision on TAG Program By Rob Manning for OPB

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=670460

 

Oregon State Department of Education issues Final Findings releasing Portland Public Schools from the TAG complaint; parents appeal

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=670460

 

See also: Oregon State Department of Education issues Amended Order concerning TAG complaint.

         Schools Failing Gifted Kids, Parents say by Todd Murphy for the Portland Tribune

"Seven years have passed, and Margaret DeLacy is still waiting.
   
In 1997, a group of Portland parents led by DeLacy filed a complaint with the Oregon Department of Education. Their complaint charged that the Portland school district wasn't giving their kids the schooling that state law mandated for "talented and gifted" children.
   Seven years later -- DeLacy's talented and gifted 10th-grader of back then now is nearing college graduation -- DeLacy and the other parents still are waiting for the state's investigation to be completed. And they're waiting, the parents say, for sanctions against the Portland school district, or forced changes in what one parent calls the "pathetic" way the district educates most intellectually gifted kids.
   For the parents, the issue is not about smart kids getting special treatment. It is about the Portland schools complying with state law, they said. And, the parents said, it is about not putting children in educational situations that can cause them to become depressed, to think they're mentally ill, or to get bored and drop out of school."

http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=23201

 

 

 

Other Articles about TAG programs and problems in Oregon:

 

Lake Oswego TAG PTA:

 

District aims to beef up talented, gifted offerings, by Wendy Owen, The Oregonian, Thursday, September 21, 2006 :

"The Lake Oswego School District is hoping to improve the consistency and depth of its gifted education for junior high students with a new program called TAG Challenge....

As the district pilots TAG Challenge, it also will be studying its overall program for talented and gifted students, a process accelerated by parents concerned about the quality of gifted education in the district "

http://www.oregonlive.com/metrosouthwest/oregonian/index.ssf/base/metro_southwest_news/115837172967090.xml&coll=7

 

See also....

an article by Maya Blackmun in the Oregonian, about an innovative new PTA for TAG parents, Tuesday, April 19, 2005

http://www.oregonlive.com/metrosouthwest/oregonian/index.ssf/base/metro_southwest_news/111390491292250.xml&coll=7

 

 


State presses Sisters schools on TAG by Tia Duerrmeyer, the Sisters Nugget, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2007
http://www.nuggetnews.com/main.aspSectionID=8&SubSectionID=8&ArticleID=13513&TM=68729.07
 
"The Sisters School District has been ordered by the state to further improve its programs for its Talented and Gifted (TAG) students.
Sisters has been found "conditionally standard" regarding programs and services it provides to TAG students. That means Sisters' TAG program is out of compliance with state standards.
As a result the state superintendent of public instruction Susan Castillo has ordered $5,000 be withheld monthly from operating funds the district receives. The funds will be withheld until the district corrects its deficiencies......."

 

 

Talented plus Gifted Equals Trouble by Rob Manning for OPB (state meetings) http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=614788

 

"Educators Focus on Lifting Gifted Students" by Anne Williams for the Eugene Register

Guard March 16, 2004

 

 

"Purse strings loosen slightly for gifted students, their parents" By JULIA SILVERMAN Associated Press, 03/17/2007

http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8NU47CG2.html

 

"Leading Minds Left Behind" by Anne Williams, Eugene Register Guard, Monday, Dec. 25, 2006

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/12/25/printable/a1.gifted.1225.jS0Wa8n8.phtml?section=cityregion

 

"Gimre Siblings Thrive as 'Exceptionally At-Risk' Kids" a radio story by Rob Manning of Oregon Public Broadcasting, August 22, 2005.  Profile of the Gimres with comments by Jan Davidson.  Text version:  http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=809935

 

Conference Focuses on Needs of Gifted Students by Rob Manning for OPB http://publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=699587

 


The disparities of college prep  by Paige Parker for the Oregonian

http://www.oregonlive.com/metro/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1099746033326700.xml

 

"Oregon Scores Stay High on ACT tests by reporter Betsy Hammond" for the Oregonian http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1061380656263600.xml?oregonian?lced

 

Sounds good?  Read the rest: 

"...Oregon students who took the ACT test, "indicated they feel boxed in by their choice of courses  

Nearly one in three Oregon students who took the ACT reported that they were dissatisfied with the number and variety of courses offered at their high school. About 43 percent said they were satisfied with the courses offered; the rest were neutral. Nationally, students were significantly more positive about their choice of high school courses. 

Richard Ferguson, chief executive of the ACT, said the lack of preparation for college math and science was particularly striking among African American students, suggesting they are not getting the counseling or rigorous coursework they need in high school."

 

 

"Summer Lessons Tackle Neglect of Bright Young Minds" by reporter Elena Lesley for the Oregonian, East Metro edition, July 2003. 

 

"Underachievers aren't the only students who need attention. 
The brightest minds in a class are often neglected by teachers who assume that good students can do their work with little instruction, said Kristine Fosback, a Reynolds School District teacher for 25 years. Just the opposite is true, she said. 
"We have to feed that thirst for knowledge," she said. "There are so many programs for children below grade level, but children above grade level have just as many needs. They need to be challenged; they need to work hard; they need friends they have something in common with."
 

 http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/metro_east_news/1059134952289110.xml?oregonian?en

 

 

 

 "Bright Students, Dim Budgets" by reporter Wendy Lawton for the Oregonian                   

"half of the state's school systems during the 2001-02 school year didn't set aside a cent to test and teach their most academically accomplished students. ...Faced with the possibility of closing schools early or jacking up class sizes, districts are eliminating instruction programs, slashing teacher training and whacking testing and supply budgets.

When sharp kids aren't challenged, research shows, they often tune out, act out or drop out. With money for Oregon's gifted and talented students at the lowest point in nearly two decades, parents and educators worry that some of the state's 45,000 gifted and talented students will fall through the cracks."

http://www.oregonlive.com/education/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1055419315322500.xml

 

 

Options in Works for Students (Beaverton's Summa academy) by David Anderson for the Oregonian

http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/metro_west_news/1077800390227780.xml?oregonian?wn

 

 

"Clarion Call to Action" An article by reporter Melissa Steineger for the NW Regional Educational Laboratory  http://www.nwrel.org/nwedu/fall_97/article3.html ]

 

 

National News on G/T issues

can be found at http://www.geniusdenied.com/articles.aspx?articleid=15&NavID=11_7

individuals can sign up for the free e-mail monthly update on news  from the Davidson Institute at

http://news.ditd.org/signup/signup.html